Massive Participation in Nicaragua’s Nationwide Multiple-Threat Drill

(Laht.com) MANAGUA – Emergency management chief Rogelio Flores said on Tuesday that “thousands of people took part” in the first national multiple-threat drill of the year in Nicaragua.

The evacuation and reaction of citizens faced with extreme natural phenomena that could turn into disasters, such as an earthquake, a tsunami, the eruption of a volcano or the blast of a hurricane, were the focus of the simulation, according to officials.

A total of 10,000 troops of the Nicaraguan army took part in the drill. They alerted the population to a hypothetical tsunami coming on top of an earthquake, and rescued those who acted the part of victims, the emergency management chief said.

Taking part in the simulation besides state institutions were elements of the private sector, since office buildings and shopping malls were evacuated along with supermarkets, private schools and state schools.

Nicaragua carries out national disaster drills periodically since its territory is considered a multiple-threat zone, exposed as it is to extreme natural phenomena of various kinds.